The 39 Steps

Synopsis

Suspense-filled drama. Richard Hanney's silent plea to be delivered from the boredom of being in London is answered in dramatic fashion. A stranger is knifed in his flat leaving him in possession of a cryptic clue to a dastardly plot. Framed for the murder Hanney fleas.

Our Review:

27 June 2005

The West Yorkshire Playhouse has recently taken two very different approaches to adapting well-known novels, with The Thirty Nine Steps treated with a great deal less reverence than David Copperfield. How you respond to Patrick Barlow’s take on John Buchan depends on where you start from. I thoroughly enjoyed the solemn foolery, but what will be the reaction of the John Buchan fan anticipating a dramatisation of a favourite book?

Not too much of the novel survives, but then not too much survived in the Hitchcock film, which is the true inspiration for Barlow – and, presumably, for Simon Corble and Nobby Dimon who created the prototype of this version. WYP may be storing up problems with the literal-minded by the billing “John Buchan’s The 39 Steps” – “Alfred Hitchcock’s” would have been more appropriate.

The mock-heroic introduction dates the action to 1935, the year of the film, and promises incredible fea...

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Latest User Review

L Limbert - 27 April 2012:

We saw this at Pontefract Town Hall and loved it! Amazing ensemble with minimalist props and staging which only enhanced the actors performance! Would Highly recommend....

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